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Congratulations! You’ve made it through a week, maybe two, successfully avoiding gluten! You feel better now than you’ve ever felt!
But after a week or so, you wonder, “How do I keep this up for the rest of my life?” Gluten seems to be in EVERYTHING! Grocery shopping is a nightmare of nutrition labels. When friends want to grab a pizza or order out for Chinese food – you can’t. When you go to a party where the only non-gluten fare is carrot sticks, what can you do? But the most frustrating part of it is every morning-noon-and-night, staring at the fridge in a panic, whispering, “What can I eat?”
It does get easier. You can get to a place of peace with your food. But just like learning anything new, it takes practice, patience, and more practice.
I’ve spent the last year and a half living gluten free. So here’s what I’ve learned to help you get rid of your gluten angst:
Start with regular foods that are naturally gluten free. Instead of worrying about what you can’t eat, focus on what you can! Meats, most cheeses, fruits, vegetables, milk, potatoes, rice, corn, eggs, and yogurt are all naturally gluten free, healthy, and delicious! Replacing the gluten-filled foods that you normally eat with gluten-free substitutes, such as pasta, cookies, and bread, will only frustrate you right now. Most of the gluten-free foods available to you taste nasty, and cost three times as much as their gluten-filled counterparts. So let them go for now.
Instead of pasta, have a rice dish. Instead of a sandwich, have a salad. Instead of cereal, have eggs and bacon. Instead of cookies, have some ice cream. Instead of beer, have a glass of wine or hard cider. And snack on tortilla chips and potato chips (in moderation, of course.) There are a multitude of possibilities here!
Be prepared! You will find yourself invited to a potluck or a dinner or a party where the host and/or hostess has no clue what gluten-free means, so there will be nothing for you to eat and no where to go to get it. It will happen. I promise.
First, please do not berate your hosts. Gluten-free fare is still fairly new to many people, so your eating issues are not on their radar. Forgive them and be a gracious guest.
Second, do not eat anything with gluten in it. I know you are hungry, the food is tempting, and you don’t wish to appear rude. But do not even eat a crumb! Trust me. I speak from experience when I say that if you eat the gluten-filled food because there is nothing else, you will regret it for days. And anyone in a five feet radius of you will regret it too.
Here’s how to take control: Offer to bring a dish to the party that you know is safe for you to eat and that everyone will enjoy. If it is a dinner party, tell your hosts about your food issues and work with them to create the menu. If that is not an option, pack a bit of gluten free food you enjoy and keep it nearby, in your purse or in your pocket. This is a good practice, in general.
Be restaurant-ready! Some restaurants cater specifically to gluten free issues. Find the ones near you and give them your business when you can. But if you are heading to a regular restaurant, you can navigate the menu if you know a few simple things. Most restaurants have salads or a meat & vegetable dish that is safe for gluten free folks. Make sure the meat does not have a gravy, breading, or soy sauce marinade; and make sure your salad comes without croutons. Most gravies and cream soups are made with flour, so steer clear. Give your bread away to someone who can enjoy it. For dessert, opt for ice cream, fruit, or crème brulee.
You can also check out the restaurant’s website for a menu or call them so you can plan ahead. Chinese restaurants are difficult because nearly every dish is made with soy sauce, which is made with wheat. As a substitute, go out for Thai food or sushi. Bring your own tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce) in case they do not have any. Curries, Pad Thai, and simple sushi or sashimi are usually gluten-free. Stay away from oyster sauce, eel sauce, tempura, and hoisin sauce. Mexican food is a good choice if you opt for dishes made without flour tortillas. Also, enchilada sauce may have flour in it, so you’ll need to ask. When speaking with a restaurant employee who does not speak English very well, go here for a print out of gluten free requests in a variety of languages. There are even apps for your smart phone.
Learn to cook! Even just a little knowledge will go a long way to making your dinners tasty and satisfying! Yes, life use to be easier before your gluten intolerance, but remember how awful you felt? You need to make a bit more of an effort so you can enjoy your meals again. Roast your vegetables. They taste so much better that way. Grill or sear-roast your meats. Braise them in the winter. Create sauces that enhance the flavors of your food. Saute shrimp or chicken strips for a salad. Create enchiladas or tacos with corn tortillas rather than flour tortillas. Keep fresh veggies and meats on hand for more available choices when you are in a time crunch. Once you get a few recipes down, you have more control over your meals and your choices grow exponentially.
Finally, introduce gluten-free substitutes, a little at a time. Gluten free grain products cost a lot of money, so find reviews online to help you make informed decisions. Here are my picks after a year of testing: Pastato pasta (made with potatoes), Udi’s bread & buns, Nut Thins crackers, and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour for gravies, breading, and soups. (I use it for baked goods as well – go here to find out how.)
Remember, none of these gluten-free products taste like their gluten-filled counterparts, so you have to judge whether you like them enough to eat them regularly. And if you can’t find gluten-free foods in your town, try Amazon.com. They’ve got a great selection and they deliver!
Simple rule of thumb: if it doesn’t taste good, don’t eat it. Life is too short to waste yourself on bad food. Plus – you’ve got so many choices now, you can live without the gluten-free products if you want!
I hope this blog has helped you take control of your diet so you can take control of your health and live a more fulfilling life! Best of luck on this journey! And here’s to eating great, gluten-free food!
thanks for this post. not sure what you mean by it. i do not think is what i neeed, but it is good to hear from you.
Roger – I have a gluten intolerance, which means I can’t eat anything that has wheat, barley, or rye in it. It makes me very sick and has caused my two autoimmune disorders: asthma and thyroid disease. There are other folks like me who are just learning how to eat without wheat, so I’m trying to help them out. Good to hear from you too!
Thanks for this post. I’m really thinking I ought to go gluten free, but I hate picky eaters and I don’t want to be one. At home it’s not so hard, but what foods are portable that I can take with me? PBJ’s is my usual. I can’t afford gluten free breads very often, and they usually taste like cardboard. Also, isn’t sprouted wheat gluten free? Or is that food taboo, too?
Unfortunately, sprouted wheat does have gluten too. Gluten is the protein in the wheat, so even if it’s whole wheat or wheat germ or sprouted, the protein still exist. Portable food for me usually means fruit, veggies, and cold cuts. My taste buds have become accustomed to Udi’s bread, but I’d still rather eat a salad or a slice of ham wrapped around a pickle or cheese. Chicken or tuna salad with rice or seed crackers is also good. I eat my chopped veggies with a light ranch dressing or hummus. I find it filling and easy to carry with me. Other GF folks I know get the GF protein bars – they are easy to store in a pocket or purse and they come in handy if you are at a dinner where there is no safe option.
I don’t think of being gluten free as picky eating. I love food – most any food. But my health is at issue, and if I eat gluten, I get very sick and my thyroid disease gets worse. For most of us it is a health issue rather than a choice – much like folks who can’t have nuts or lactose. If we could eat bread and cake and cookies, we would, but we’d jeopardize our health because we don’t digest that little protein. My job is to be healthy and I try to help those around be feel comfortable with my food issue – without guilt or prejudice or concern. I don’t judge them for eating the crusty french bread, and I hope they don’t judge me when I turn it down.
I love your wisdom and your helpful words! My sister went GF for a year while she was trying to remedy a mysterious and chronic digestive issue; she found out later that it was unrelated to gluten, BUT during the process, our discovered SO many delicious wheat- and gluten-free recipes! We all found out that we love quinoa, red quinoa especially! And I learned that pasta dishes are just as great if you keep the sauce but swap in more veggies in place of pasta; lasagna made with slices of zucchini and eggplant instead of semolina noodles–fabulous!